The Marketing Message Blog

The Power of Focus

At this time of the year, when everyone is ramping up for holiday sales and promotions I am reminded that the ability to focus is the one thing that separates the very successful from the wannabees. Well-known life coach Nido Qubein is quoted as saying, "nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all your energies on a limited set of targets."

I use a tool called Mind Maps to help me focus and plan.  You may have another tool that works for you.  The key to getting through all the clutter, emails, podcasts, videos and promotions that come your way is to simply decide what's important and only focus on that. 

Years ago I worked with a very successful entrepreneur who believed that his only skill was being able to concentrate on one goal while everyone else had a list of plans, strategies and objectives. He believed that if he accomplished that goal, all the others would fall into place. 

It may be counter-intuitive, but if you have a huge list of things to do, just pick the most important one and the rest will take care of themselves.

Collaboration with Customers

I'm reading an interesting new book called "We are Smarter than Me: How to unleash the power of crowds in your business." (See required reading.) In it, authors Barry Libert and Jon Spector give lots of interesting examples about how companies benefit from collaborating with customers.

Many small business owners shy away from letting their customers collaborate.  They are afraid it will get out of their control.  That's precisely the point.  Letting customers have a say in the enhancement of your products or the improvement of your website can be valuable.  You just need the right attitude.

What are the possible benefits of collaborating with customers?  Libert and Spector list:

• Invent new products
• Improve customer service
• Boost sales
• Turbocharge manufacturing
• New sources of finance
• Everyone is a leader
• Makes you more productive and profitable
• Makes your company a better place to work

If you have been holding on tightly to the reins of control, think about it.

Get Content, Get Customers—New Ebook Available

There's a great new free ebook called Get Content, Get Customers from Content Strategists Joe Pulizzi and Newt Barrett.  It talks about how to convert customers using content as a key focus.  This is a topic all small business owners and solopreneurs should embrace.

The odd fact is that it's often overlooked. I always look at the content of a client's website as a key indicator of how well they understand their customer and how targeted their marketing is. 

Joe and Newt have created a "B.E.S.T" test that helps you evaluate your strategy.  Check it out.

Word of mouth around the world

Interesting article in eMarketer called "Word of Mouth Works Worldwide"  According to an April 2007 Nielsen study of internet users in 47 markets around the world, 'recommendations from consumers' is the number one type of trusted 'advertising' (78%).  Not too surprising.  I think we all agree that we'd probably trust a consumer opinion over an advertisement.

Online banner ads came in at 26% and search engine ads came in at 34%.  This is a good reality check for small business owners who live and die by advertising. 

The great thing about social media marketing is that if you focus on delivering a great product, the customer will do the work for you.  Perhaps you should spend more time on improving your products and services and less on banner ads.

Requesting nominations for Top 10 Marketing Blogs

Michael Stelzner is collecting nominations for the Top 10 Marketing Blogs.  You might be interested in nominating your favorite blog here  If you want to nominate my blog, that would be very cool.  Regardless, let your opinon be heard.

YouTube Marketing

When it comes to YouTube videos, everyone wants to get into the act. New York Magazine, September 3-10, 2007 reports that even some Realtors with video cameras are making it work for them - "One broker says he found a buyer by sending a video to his email list; within 24 hours he received a full-cash offer." 

This should be something you're thinking about.  The idea is to send a video to your mailing list with an offer they find irresistible.  You'll catch their attention and stand out among the clutter.

Taking Stock

It's Fall here in the U.S. and it's back to school and work.  The tempo picks up and everyone gets to look at their business with a fresh eye. Now is a good time to take a "big picture" look at your business goals. Are you meeting them? Have they changed significantly? Is your website content in line with what you're promoting now?

It's very likely that the answer is no. Everything related to the Web changes so fast that you could be hampering your business growth because you're not keeping up with what's going on around you. You don't want to be the gating factor to your own businesses growth. This month, make an effort to assess how likely you are to meet year end goals. There is still some time to effect change.